1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to evaluating the appropriateness of content, and more specifically, to evaluating content against a user profile to determine whether the content is appropriate for the user.
2. Background
The growth of the Internet and online content has proved to be a valuable asset to society. The ease and amount of content available to the general public is unprecedented. While there are many benefits for easy access to multiple sources of content, there is also a negative impact. Users can be exposed to content that they find undesirable and may prefer not to be exposed to such content.
A conventional technique to prevent users from being exposed to objectionable online content is to provide blocking (or filtering) software. The blocking software can be used to block access to Web sites or other content that the user has determined to be undesirable. While the blocking software is useful, it has several drawbacks. For example, the blocking software is not 100% successful in filtering all objectionable content or Web sites from being accessed by the user. Further, the blocking software may inadvertently block or censor generally worthwhile or wholesome information or Web sites, which prevents the user from accessing the desirable content. Another drawback to the blocking software is that it typically requires the user to access or be exposed to the questionable content or Web site before the user can add the Web site or content to the blocking list. That is, the user has to be exposed to the content that the user is trying to avoid before the Web site or identified content can be added to the blocking list.